Do not be tempted to memorise sentences as the examiner can usually spot this as your answer is rehearsed and may not exactly fit the question. It is best to simply answer each question, giving a reason for your answer. For example:

“What’s your favourite food?”

“I really love Mexican food, especially tacos because I like my food to be spicy”

This is good because you don’t speak for too long on the question, although you give some reasoning for your response. In part one, your responses are not expected to be very long and the examiner has a lot of everyday questions to ask you.

Part 3 – Discussion with the examiner (4-5 minutes)

The purpose of this part is to give you a chance to talk about a topic more generally.

Rather than focusing on your experience you will be expected to be able to talk about more abstract ideas. For example, you may need to compare the past and present or make predictions about the future.

Part 3 is linked to the topic you were given in Part 2, but consists of a more general discussion with the examiner.

You may disagree with the examiner and give reasons.

The most important thing is to express your opinions as clearly as you can and perhaps provide examples to strengthen your views.

We’ve been talking about a holiday you enjoyed and now I’d like to discuss one or two more general questions related to this.

Why do people go on holiday?

How important is it for families to go on holiday together?

Why do some people go on holiday alone?

What kind of holidays will be popular in the future?

Is it better to take a holiday in your own country or in a foreign country? Why?